April’s IR35 changes have been looming large in the rear view mirror for some time now. With the self-assessment deadline having come and gone at the end of January, the focus of the contracting community has now fallen firmly upon Philip Hammond’s Spring Budget on 8th March, followed swiftly by the much-maligned changes in IR35 status for personal service company contractors in the public sector that are due to come into force from 6th April 2017. If labyrinthine policy change doesn’t fill you with vernal optimism, then we’re not sure what will.

Late last year we introduced you to a few new members of the Kingsbridge team. For the nostalgic among you, that post can be revisited here. Fast forward three months and there are plenty of new faces in our Tewkesbury HQ. So many, in fact, that we’re running out of space.

With another successful year behind us, and plans for many more successful years ahead, having the right staff in place is a fundamental catalyst for the growth we expect to see. Below, meet (deep breath): Barley Spurway, Sophia Chance-Hyett, George Bingle, Anna Cullimore, Julian Short, Mike Halliwell, and Chloe Delgado-Chance.

Name: Barley Spurway

Job Role: Business Development Executive

About: Barley joined Kingsbridge in November 2016, having previously worked in the recruitment industry. Barley forms an integral part of our Business Development team, using the knowledge she acquired in her previous role to bring in new partners, as well as speaking to the recruiters we deal with on a daily basis.

Kingsbridge are delighted to announce that we’ve opened new offices in the heart of London. Situated in Moorgate, we’ve taken space in one of WeWork’s co-working office hubs. WeWork have a number of thriving office communities with a focus on freelancers, start-ups, and tech businesses.

Not only does WeWork afford the Kingsbridge London team the opportunity to work in a contemporary and flexible environment, it also positions us right at the bustling centre of an insurance hub and in a place where a large number of our partners and customers work.

Going forward we will be looking to grow our team further in London as Kingsbridge continues its expansion at pace. Our London base will also act as a nerve centre for our existing team – both those who already work in the city, and those coming up from our other offices for meetings and events.

In addition to our own staff, we’re more than happy for our partners to come by, visit, and grab a desk if they need to. With free beer on tap from 3pm, we’re better equipped to serve and accommodate visitors than ever before.

We’re thrilled to have laid our first foundations in the country’s most important city, and look forward to continued success and growth in the months and years ahead.

The beginning of the year is always a good time to take a look at your CV and see if anything needs changing or updating. It’s a great way of starting as you mean to go on, as well as ensuring that your prospects for finding clients to work with in 2017 are top notch.

So, what do you need to do to give your CV a thorough once over? It’s actually less of a chore than you think, and can be a strong incentive to keep the document up to date throughout the year.

At Kingsbridge, we have a long history of working with contractors and agencies, so we’ve put together some steps you should take to tidy up your CV for the year ahead.

Whether you choose to drive or use public transport, one thing you can’t ignore is the havoc caused by engineering works and industrial action on the railways. If you normally use the train to get from A to B, then you really will be bearing the brunt of this as you join the incredibly slow rail replacement bus service, or you switch to an alternative mode of transport.

Rail problems have a habit of affecting contractors and freelancers (and everyone else, for that matter) even if you don’t normally catch the train, so what are the solutions? Well, the easiest way to tackle the problem is remote working. It’s not possible for everyone, of course, but if it’s a viable solution for you, then it’s worth considering.

The deadline for your online self-assessment tax return is coming up fast – 31 January 2017 to be exact. If you have an accountant who handles this on your behalf, it’s likely to already be neatly in hand. But if, like a lot of contractors, you handle your tax return yourself, make sure you have it submitted on time.

What happens if I miss the deadline?

If you miss the 31 January 2017 deadline, you will ultimately have to pay more. This is the same if you submit your paper tax return before 31 January 2017, but after 31 October 2016 (the deadline for paper tax returns). If you have missed the paper deadline, make sure you complete an online tax return before 31 January to avoid a fine.

Setting New Year’s resolutions can be a pain as we all feel like we’re competing with each other on Twitter as we resolve to get fit, cut out fast food, be more mindful and whatever else everyone is resolving to do in 2017. And, let’s face it, most of us ditch the resolutions by mid-January anyway.

Business resolutions, however, are something else entirely. Think of them as easy-to-achieve goals that will help make your life easier in 2017 and hopefully improve your business as well. But what can contractors set as their New Year’s resolutions? We have some ideas…

Unless you’ve specifically planned to take Christmas off, the festive period can leave some contractors feeling at a bit of a loose end. While to many it’s a happy time to spend with family and friends, to some it can be a time of financial worry where work just isn’t forthcoming because everyone else is off.

We’ve got some tips to help you get through the festive period with your sanity in tact!

One horror story we regularly hear from contractors is that they did have insurance but were, in fact, underinsured.

While this wasn’t an issue for them for a long time — and kept their monthly or yearly premiums down — it became a problem when a claim was made against them because of a mistake they made, and they didn’t have enough insurance to cover it. This resulted in them having to foot most of the bill themselves with a variety of consequences including using up their savings, selling their home, having to give up their business or, in some extreme cases, declaring bankruptcy.

So you should always make sure you have the right level of insurance with appropriate limits, lest you find yourself in a situation that results in financial difficulties.

Whether you’re a veteran contractor or a newbie, whether you’re in IT or engineering, you’ve almost certainly discovered by now that having contractor insurance is often a contractual obligation when it comes to clients and/or agencies. This means that before you sign on the dotted line, you must have insurance in place or else you could find yourself in breach of contract.